


Van Ride

by doeful



Category: Lost
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 19:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18505225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doeful/pseuds/doeful
Summary: Ben takes a ride in his father's van.





	Van Ride

September 30th, 1974

 

The air of the jungle was humid and smelled sweet and earthy, of greenery and citrus and flowers. It was oppressively hot outside, as it usually was, but the slight breeze seemed to waft back some of the humidity and keep most of the heat at bay.

 Ben shifted on the seat of the van, staring out the window as the jungle passed by. So many shades of green, all kinds of vines and ferns and bushes and trees, interspersed with tiny patches of color from the exotic, sweet-smelling flowers. Shifting, warm sunlight seeped into the hot, musty, sticky van which jolted heavily over the dirt road. Ben swung his legs back and forth as he perched on the edge of the seat, captivated by the exotic surroundings.

 The boy glanced to his father, who wasn’t as enthusiastic about such scenery. He stared straight ahead, looking slightly irritated as he usually did, hands gripping the steering wheel. He never seemed so happy about their move, or anything for that matter.

 Ben brushed his bangs out of his face and turned back to the window, swinging his legs under him in order to kneel on the van seat and look further out at the jungle. His mind ran wild as he saw the cool blue shadows and caught glimpses of the landscape beyond the thick vegetation and tall, unfamiliar trees. What animals lived out there? Tigers, leopards, monkeys… He could hear all kinds of strange birds and animals day in and day out, and he wished he saw a bit more wildlife.

 It was around evening, with the sunset tinting the sunlight from yellow to orange and pink, and dissolving some of the heat of the day. A bit further down the road a chorus of crickets began somewhere deep in the jungle, and Ben heard a sudden series of howls rise up in the distance, like wolf howls but more high-pitched, like the barks of coyotes.

 “Were those dogs? Or wolves?” Ben asked excitedly, wondering if they came close to the barracks. Not many animals did, as he heard, because they didn’t like the ringing of the fence.

 “Jackals.” His father corrected tiredly. “More like coyotes, they’re vermin.” The older man added disdainfully.

  _Vermin?_ Ben shifted a little uncomfortably. He’d never seen a jackal, or a coyote for that matter, and he knew they were a threat to livestock, but they couldn’t really mean that much malice to be called vermin. They were just animals, after all. However, he didn’t dare voice this concern, instead sitting back down in the seat and watching the jungle turn into a kind of open moor-like landscape with short grass and the occasional patches of flowers and thickets.

 The van gradually pulled to a stop, and Ben suddenly noticed the pylons. He sat up and peered out the window, throwing a glance over his shoulder at his father, who was exiting to punch in the code, before looking back out at the new surroundings.

 Suddenly, Ben sighted movement toward the tree-line. He craned his neck to see, wide-eyed as he saw a shape moving along the greenery. A dog-like animal—more foxlike, really—brown with black on its back and big foxy ears. The small, speckled canine trotted further into view, then lifted its long muzzle to the air and glanced at Ben. He gasped as his eyes met the jackal’s.  _A real, live jackal, real island wildlife—it’s looking right at me!_

Ben had never seen something so exotic, so wild, so close before. It just looked at him, its eyes more curious than anything. It looked so much like a dog, but so different, something straight out of a storybook. As Ben looked closer, his eyes widened, and he adjusted his glasses. A slightly smaller, younger jackal trailed behind the first, peeking out from between the adult’s legs. Then, two more emerged from the grass. Three young, lanky jackal pups crowding around the older one.

  _That must be their mother,_ Ben observed, feeling a strange ache in his chest at the thought. He watched for a moment as they hid behind her, pressed up against her, still watching him curiously. He looked at the family, almost wistfully. Despite the fact they were animals, they looked so happy together.

 Before Ben could think further, a sudden yell from behind him made him jump.

 “Get the hell out of here! Go on, get!” Snapped his father from somewhere behind the van. He came into view, immediately chucking a rock at the family. The jackals started, then broke into a sprint and disappeared among the ferns and bushes, the rock—and the several others thrown after the first—just barely missing them.

 “Hey, don’t! -“ Ben started, but immediately silenced himself as he realized he had just spoken up. His father didn’t seem to notice, however, as he continued to shout at the animals. He looked around and patted at his empty holster which held the standard-issue pistol given to workmen and other personnel for “self-defense” (though they were really used more for shooting tin cans and innocent wildlife.)

 Roger’s gaze lingered on where the jackals disappeared, then he stomped back to the van and sat inside, slamming the van door shut and starting the vehicle again. “Damn dogs…”

 Ben knew he shouldn’t say anything—it would only make things worse, but he couldn’t help himself. “It was a mother and her pups, they weren’t hurting anyone…” He prompted softly, internally cringing in anticipation of the reaction he knew he would receive. The van began to move again.

 Roger snorted disdainfully, “Pups- more jackals to eat our food and be a nuisance, should have offed all four of them.” He put extra emphasis on the last part, as if to draw out a reaction.

 Ben nearly flinched at such a statement, he couldn’t imagine hurting or killing an animal, especially one not doing any wrong, _especially a mother and her children._ How could he say something like that? Again, he felt as if he wasn’t able to stop himself from talking. “But- I- They’re just animals, they don’t know any better.” His voice was soft, reproachful, but he couldn’t stop his voice from cracking a little.

 His father’s face screwed up and he darted a glare at his son. “They’re not _people,_ if you went up to one it’d probably bite you without a second thought. Oh, don’t tell me you’re going to get emotional over some animals—I didn’t even hurt ‘em!” Roger raised his voice, slamming a hand on the steering wheel and shaking his head.

 Ben flinched slightly at the noise, shrinking back in his seat. Why did he have to say anything? Today had been going just fine until now, he continued to stay quiet in the hopes it would drop.

 “You’re so damn sensitive, how the hell are you gonna handle the real world, huh? If a big dog came up and tried to kill you, would you still try and pet it? I bet you would…” He growled, “Sure ain’t no excuse for you to be _disrespectful_ , hell if those dogs had come any closer they might have tried to attack, I might have just saved you, and this is how you act, huh?”

 Ben continued to flatten himself against the door, wishing it would stop. _You brought this on yourself, if you just hadn’t said anything it would have been fine, but of course you had to ruin it,_ a voice in his head snarled, making him wince.

 “—And what, a mother and her pups? What does that matter to you huh?” His father paused, and Ben realized he was actually baiting some kind of answer, yet when he opened his mouth to answer his mouth was bone-dry.

 “What, are you jealous?”

 Ben froze immediately, eyes widening, and he felt something inside of him break, shock coursing through him. There was silence in the van. Ben felt tears burning in the corners of his eyes and he swallowed down a lump in his throat. The boy slowly lifted his eyes to find his father glaring disdainfully at him, face twisted as if he was stifling a smirk.

 “Only have yourself to blame for that, I guess.” Roger mumbled dismissively, turning his eyes back to the road as if nothing had just happened. Ben remained frozen in place, eyes downcast, and holding back silent tears.


End file.
